Thing's I'll Forget (But I'll Never Regret)
by Desert's Lily
Summary: We go to rival universities and went on a bar crawl together. You woke up in my bed and neither of us knows the appropriate time to leave.' AKA the Almer bar crawl au no one realised they needed.


**A/N: Kind of a spiritual sequel to I Don't Get Drink (I get Awesome) but can be read on its own. Once again, it's set in Sheffield**

Albert remembered getting ready for the bar crawl. He remembered pulling on the t-shirt with his name written across the back in one of Racetrack's ridiculous glitter gel pens. He also remembered trying to convince Race to come out on the crawl because 'you can put off your essay for a few hours at least!" He remembered entering the first bar. Then nothing. Then he drank so much that the night became a blissful nothingness in his memory. The dent in his bank account and the hangover, however, were not as blissful. The first thing Albert was aware of when he opened his eyes was that he was second thing he was aware of was that there was someone cuddled into his someone was just as shirtless, not to mention the fact they were absolutely stunning. Drunk Albert had great taste. Though where they had met and how they had gotten home was lost on him. Still, he had woken up under far worse circumstances before.

Rather reluctantly, he found himself carefully untangling himself from the handsome stranger and getting out of bed. As much as he wanted to spend all day loitering in bed, the thought of a hangover cure was far too tempting. It was as he got up that he noticed a shirt on the floor that definitely wasn't his. The neat 'Elmer' written in black sharpie across the back confirmed that. It appeared the stranger had a name. He cast one more glance at 'Elmer' before turning to leave the room. Thus he reluctantly dragged himself into the kitchen, very much resembling a zombie as he did. He couldn't help the exasperated groan that escaped him. There on the counter sat his flat mate with a cigar between his lips and an empty Chicken mcNugget sharebox next to him. Albert almost instantly moved to snatched the cigar from him, ignoring Racetrack's cry of protest as he did.

"Hey! That's my cigar!"

"And I'm hungover. So suck it, Higgins." Albert snorted at that. He rolled his eyes as Race flipped him off. Along with being his best friend and flat mate, Antonio 'Racetrack' Higgins was the most obnoxious twink he had ever met in his life. It was the small victories over him that Albert savoured. Taking a long drag of the cigar, Albert glanced at him. "Don't suppose you know anything about the guy in my room, do you?"

The grin that broke out on Racetrack's face could rival the Cheshire cat. "What if I do?" A teasing tone slipped into his voice at that. It was evident he knew something. After a slight glare from Albert, Race let out an exaggerated sigh. "His name is Elmer. He doesn't go to Shefifeld Hallam, for starters. I've seen him around Uni of with Spotty a few times." He swung his legs, allowing his grin to twist into a smirk.

"You're kidding."

"Nope." He popped the 'p'.

Albert let out anothr groan, taking a long drag from Race's cigar. He was regretting stealing it less and less by the second. Of course the mysterious stranger in his bed went to the rival university! "At least he's cute." he hummed. "What exactly happened last night, Racer?" Albert rubbed at the gap between his eyes, his hangover very much making itself known.

Ever the helpful friend, Race opened a nearby cupboard took out a packet of paracetamol before unceremonously hurling it full force at his flat mate. "Never say I don't do anything for ya." His smirk widened. "By the time Jack called me to come pick up you and Spot, you were doing body shots off of _him_."The blonde made a vague gesture towards Albert's bedroom at that. "Apart from that, I called you a cab home and you seemed very keen on bringing him home with you." Race shrugged. "Though, by the look of things, nothing interesting happened which I guess isn't surprsing considering how much you drank last night."

Albert felt his face heat up as he moved to get himself a glass of water, very mucheager to take the painkillers. "Oh fuck off, Racer." He scoffed. He was too hungover to take any teasing in jest. Especially from Racetrack. Albert swallowed the pills, hoping they would help one of his headaches. The second - one Antonio Higgins - seemed to have no intentions of going away. Great. "I'm...going to check on him." He had a feeling Race would offer very little else in terms of help.

Ignoring Race's cry of "Have fun!", Albert handed Race his cigar before heading back into his room. He froze as he stepped inside.

It seemed Elmer had woken up at some point whilst he had been stuck dealing with Racer. The sleepy smile he offered in greeting made Albert's dumb, gay heart. It was absolutely perfect. "Morning." Elmer yawned, and it seemed his voice was as perfect as the rest of him. Oh fuck. Realising he had frozen in the doorway, he quickly snapped himself out of it and headed inside.

"I brought painkillers." Albert held up the paracetamol and the glass of water. Mentally, he he knew it was a poor greeting. Especially after a drunken almost one night stand.

Elmer, however, didn't seem to mind. Instead, a grateful smile crossed his face as he took them from Albert. "An angel in disguise!" He declared with a laugh, quickly down the painkillers with the rest of the water. "God, we really drank too much last night, didn't we?" It was practically a rheotorical question at this point. Both were hungober enough to give a valid answer.

That caused Albert to pause, watching the handsome stranger carefully. "...Do you regret last night?" He moved to perch himself on the edge of the bed, cautious of getting too close as he waited for a response.

"What? Of course not! I just wish I could remember more of it!" The words caused relief to flood through Albert. That wasone less thing to worry about. "It's Albert, right? I'm Elmer!"

"I know. I...uh...I saw your shirt on the floor." It was then and only then that Elmer seemed to notice he was shirtless if the sudden redness of his cheeks was anything to go by. Even his blush was adorable! "If you're worried about last night, I don't think anything happened." Albert assured him quickly.

Elmer's shoulders slumped at that. "At least I can avoid doing a complete walk of shame."He offered Albert a tense smile as an awkward silence washed over them. "...So, at what point should I leave?"

In all honesty, Albert wanted to respond 'never'. Keep a cute boy in his bed? Sign him the fuck up! He was living the dream! He was quick to clear his throat. "You...you can stay as long as you like. Not often I get to see someone cute in the mornings. Usually just a dumbass twink!"

Elmer laughed quietly. "Racetrack?" He guessed, snorting when Albert nodded reluctantly. "I've seen him with Spot a few times. He doesn't seem that bad!"

"He is." Albert assured. "It's worse if you live with him!" He loved Race like a brother but the physics major was beyond irritating when he wanted to be. It was certainly something that had taken him some time to get used to. "...It's still pretty early. If you want, I wouldn't be entirely against going back to cuddling..." He trailed off.

Elmer's response to that was to simply slump back on the bed. Albert hesitated before moving to lay down next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist loosely. He lost track of time after that, lost entirely in the moment. There was something soothin about it.

At least, it was until Race peaked his head into the room. "Do you guys need anything? Some snacks? A condom?" Albert just picked up a shoe from the floor and threw it at him in response.


End file.
